Free Republic

LAGUNA BEACH – The founder of the Minuteman Project says organizers of the annual Patriots Day Parade are discriminating against his group by not allowing it to join the March event. "This is a darn insult," said Jim Gilchrist, founder of the group most known for organizing civilian border patrols. "The Minuteman Project is being deliberately demonized by the parade commission."

The leader of a border watch organization seeking a nationwide clampdown on illegal immigration Tuesday endorsed Gov. Janet Napolitano's proposal for a $100 million plan to address the issue. Napolitano gave few details, but called for action including a National Guard presence on the border and penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants during her State of the State address on Monday to the Arizona Legislature. "Governor Napolitano's border security proposal should be supported by the Arizona Legislature and passed into law immediately to better protect Arizonans from the dangers of our porous borders," Chris Simcox, president of the...

FALFURRIAS — This small town, a welcome highway stop in a no-man's-land of mesquite brush between San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, hummed along Saturday like it was any other weekend. Families enjoyed chicken fried steaks and fries at the Star of Texas restaurant. The local radio station played rancheras and gave out the weather report. Yet out of sight just 8 miles south on U.S. 281, activity whirled on a private ranch as volunteers from Texas and other states kicked off a monthlong project to combat illegal immigration. The ranch belongs to Michael Vickers, a local veterinarian who...

In order to succeed, restrictionists must say racists are not welcome. After being contained for nearly a decade, immigration reform has been breaking its tethers: a new wave of grassroots activists and a serious congressional faction is putting the issue back on the American political agenda. Fed up with the Bush administration’s disinterest in securing the country’s borders, local elected officials are also stepping into the breach. The Minuteman Project—which mobilized volunteers in a well-publicized effort to help patrol the Mexico-Arizona border earlier this year—now has affiliates in 18 states and has attracted favorable press coverage and public notice. In...

So a local pol wants to have a town hall forum on a pressing matter of interest. That should be a simple affair, right? Not if the issue is illegal immigration. State Senator Bill Morrow wanted to have a forum on the subject in the Carlsbad, Ca Cultural Arts Center. He invited Jim Gilchrist, Minuteman Founder and Congressman Tom Tancredo. The approvals were granted and invitations sent. Until John Roach, Superintendent of the Carlsbad Unified School District, got cold feet. It seems at other Gilchrist events, the supporters of illegal immigrants have gotten violent. So the natural bureaucratic response is...